ARCTIC SPINE

The Arctic Spine, a region wide “Utilidor”, is a research and design project that looks at improving and nurturing the existing settlements in the Canadian Arctic. The term “Utilidor” speaks to a pipeline that carries basic utilities - heat, water, sewage and electricity lines, to provide the necessities for Arctic living. Inuvik, our sample study community, already has a “Utilidor” in the midst of the town, but it is poorly maintained, runs haphazardly over and around buildings, and provides insufficient utilities to the citizens.

The Arctic Spine is a repurposing of this system; a utility corridor that runs underneath a public pathway that is designed as a utility spine that can be tapped into and a link to collective social and work spaces. This strategic concept will provide the framework for servicing remote locations to provide the essentials of modern village life, provide for the installation of nodes for cultural, economic and social events to celebrate the communities of the North.

Food networking map across Canada's North West Territories

Arctic "Utilidor" Pathway

Sample city Inuvik with the new "Utilidor" pathway amongst the existing town. Hubs are created at the port, the new industry of fish-farming, and in the community adjacent to existing markets and cultural centres.

The Utilidor pathway extending into local lakes to create new industry through fishfarms and processing.